


The Past Is Unchangeable

by KuroMisa



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate universe - Mafia, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Assassination, Attempted Murder, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Betrayal, Blow Jobs, Bottom Eren Yeager, Consensual Sex, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, FBI, Graphic Description, Illegal Activities, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kissing, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Murder, Organized Crime, Past Child Abuse, Reincarnation, Rimming, Romance, Rope Bondage, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sex Toys, Shower Sex, Slow Build, Top Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Torture, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-08-14 03:18:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7996678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuroMisa/pseuds/KuroMisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starting his new job at the FBI headquarters Eren gets an assignment that will change his life forever. Picking up one of the higher ups at the Mafia is probably going to be the hardest task he will have to master for pushing his career. After meeting Levi who was obviously keeping secrets from Eren, his job became even more difficult. Even after deciding not to reveal any secrets which could destroy the young boy, Levi got closer to Eren, not able to stay away from that very attractive youth. On top of all that Eren was heavily plagued by nightmares but are they really just nightmares or is there more to them than it seems?</p><p>*Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or its characters, and I do not make a profit from this fanfiction.*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Dream Is Not Always Just A Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dear readers!!  
> Dedicating my life to fanfictions I'm proudly presenting my very first work. I'm sorry for all the grammar mistakes or misspellings you might find, English is after all not my mother tongue.  
> I love Eren x Levi sooooooo much, can't get enough of it. So without further ado I decided to write my own work. I hope I will be able to express myself like I want to.
> 
> Chapter Warning: Major Character Death

The sound of the gavel strike echoed through the large courtroom. It announced the beginning of the ending. The room fell silent while the people in the room were listening to the judge’s final verdict with undivided attention.

 

 “Eren Jaeger, you will be hereby sentenced to death. Your execution will take place at the grand plaza five hours from now…- “

 

After hearing the word _execution_ Eren’s brain shut down. All kind of emotions were rushing at an abnormal speed through him, even though his inner tumult wasn’t shown on his face. Instead, his face settled on one single emotion, sadness. Tears started to collect at the corner of his eyes, filling them in a matter of seconds. His once bright emerald eyes full of life, flooded by a sea of tears were now dull. They held no life in them anymore, completely devoid of any emotion; a deadpan gaze. Eren bit his lower lip and shut his eyes tightly before the tears threatened to fall down his face and could be seen by everyone around him. The brunette clenched his teeth to not let out a single sob. He didn’t want to show any more weakness than he already had.

 

In his despair, he tried to get a coherent thought together, to connect words with each other. Despite his serious attempts, he couldn’t do so. He wanted to cry so badly, but he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction to see him break completely. Eren was like a lost child who wanted nothing more than to be held dearly by the person he loved, being safe and far away from the prying eyes of the audience.

 

But here he was, all alone chained to a metallic pole in the middle of the room, exposed to their dreadful gazes. He didn’t know what to think anymore, he wasn’t really able to grab his fleeting thoughts and put them together that they would make sense. His head, on the one side, told him that it was maybe for the best that he would be dead soon. His hurting heart, on the other side, was thrown into chaos, it told him that something terrible was about to happen, something no one could change. Little did he know that it wasn’t only his life which was at stake here and bound to the deadly verdict.

 

As his sadness subsided, it was replaced by anger. It ate at him from within. The people he saved were betraying him, wanting him to be dead. That couldn’t be true, to be executed for saving humanity, even after everything he had sacrificed to reach that one eternal goal. That just can be a fucking joke, can’t it? Now that he fulfilled his task by getting rid of the Titans, he was just being tossed away like a stray dog.

 

The defined muscles under his tanned skin began to tremble violently. The shackles around his wrists began to rustle slightly under the force of his shaking body. With every passed second the intensity of the rustling increased. He couldn’t contain his anger any longer, he wanted to kill something, no, someone – _all of them_. He wanted to kill them so badly, but the shackles around his wrists were keeping him restrained, fortunately for them.

 

The louder the rattles of his chains became, the quieter the room got. All eyes began to fixate on Eren again, naked fear could be seen in most of them. The brunette finally opened his eyes again, looking at everyone intensely but not focusing on anyone in particular. If looks could kill, then all of them would be dead by now. His green eyes roaming the crowd until they settled on what they were attracted to the most, a pair of familiar mercury eyes. Eren secretly hoped for a positive emotion in the person’s eyes. Disappointed, the young man didn’t found what he hoped for so desperately, the once lovely grey eyes held no emotion in them. The other person wasn’t looking at him but right through him. His eyes were as dull as Erens, not even showing the tiniest bit of human emotion.

 

Shivers ran down his spine, now that Eren was finally able to grasp his hopeless situation wholly. There was no way out this time, the end of him was _inevitable_. No one would be able to change it, it was _unavoidable_. Yes, he wanted to be free but being dead wasn’t his definition of being free. Eren wanted to live, to cling on every straw he would get. There just weren’t any straws left, nothing could save him anymore. He wanted to live so very badly. Instead, he was ripped out from his life savagely. It was almost ludicrous. Destiny spits him in his face for sacrificing himself, for choosing anything and anyone over himself.

 

Eren got irate again and tried to stand up, to break free from the shackles which chained him down. Wrong move. He was always watched, and the people watching him were better safe than sorry. After hearing the sound of the shackles once more, the people in uniform acted upon their instinct. Two people from each side of the court were already on their way to him. Closing in on him, not procrastinating in holding their bats high to threaten Eren further. He answered in giving them a challenging and deadly glare. What more could he lose now? Fear crept upon them, and they were instantly starting to bring their bats down. Roaring, they throw hit after hit at Eren, inflicting many wounds on his lovely face, not caring where they were directing their hits. After all, he was a fucking titan who was supposed to heal easily in seconds. Even though steam wasn’t rising from Eren’s wounds, they didn’t stop. They just kept going at it madly, obsessed by their own pent up frustration.

 

With every blow Eren took, his rage started to erode away ever so slightly. He couldn’t defend himself, hoping iffy they would stop soon. He felt degraded for being so weak, for not even able protect himself. The brunette was hopelessly at their mercy. The countless hits didn’t seem to decrease at all. Most of the blows were directed at his head, blood streamed down his face in rivulets, coating it in a bright crimson liquid. His right eye already began to swell badly, making it impossible to see with it anymore.

 

With each new hit against his temple, his consciousness began to fade more and more. Eren couldn’t stand the pain any longer. He wasn’t someone to cry easily, on the contrary, he could take a lot of pain and still smile. This time, though was different. It wasn’t the physical pain which got him to cry, it was more the psychological pain. He couldn’t put his finger on the why; why he felt this way, but his heart was breaking fast for some unknown reason. Something was going to be taken from him, which was even more precious to Eren than his own life. He simply couldn’t remember what it was, even though it seemed so vital.

 

The whole situation started to crash down over him in huge waves, he wasn’t able to contain his sadness anymore. New tears collected in the corner of his eyes and finally fell down his pale face randomly, mixing with his blood. He was licking his parched lips, tasting a combination of cupriferous blood and salty tears. His mind was starting to get swallowed up by the darkness which was slowly edging in. Dizziness was enveloping him, vision blurry with black dots dancing at the corner of it. Eren opened his mouth trying to get more air into his lungs because his nose was forsaking its job by the many blows it has taken. He intended to take a big gulp of air which was accompanied by his own blood. After the red liquid had begun to run down his throat, he started to cough violently. His breathing got laborious, but the people didn’t seem to care, not the faintest bit. Some people of the crowd were cheering, celebrating and shouting ‘Yes, kill that monster. He deserves no better!’ Filtering all the sounds, there was also another voice he could hear clearly above all the others, screaming at the guards to stop hitting him or else he would kill them. The voice apparently sounded sad and upset about this whole situation. Eren wanted to concentrate on that voice, but his mind began to slip away despite his best efforts to keep it at bay.

 

With the chains supporting his weight he leant forward unconsciously. The brunette hadn’t had the strength anymore to keep himself upright. His eyes were already half-lidded, his body trying to shut them completely. Eren knew once he was unconscious everything would end. With sheer willpower, he just refused to let his mind slip any further. Successfully he slowly gained control over his limbs again. He desperately wanted to see the person who was calling out to him. Seeing him maybe would give him the strength to get through this situation.

 

Unfortunately, that moment never came. Once lifting his head slightly a thrown rock made contact with his temple. Usually, it wouldn’t leave an impact, but this time it was the drip on the hot stone. His prior success at keeping his mind from slipping faded quickly. Eren couldn’t control his body anymore, all of him going lax. Not being able to stay upright he fell on his left side. He didn’t want to let go, not before he found the owner of that particular voice. Trying his hardest to stay awake his body had other intentions. While his eyelids were shutting down, he could make out a slim figure running towards him. Eren’s vision was already cloudy, he just knew for sure that it was a man because of his voice. Darkness was enveloping his mind, playing with his consciousness regularly. The last thing Eren could hear before his mind succumbed to the darkness was this man’s still small voice calling out to him.

 

“Eren, don’t you dare leave me now!! You promised me!”

 

* * *

 

 

* Four and a half hours later *

 

Being in a dark cell, all chained up wasn’t new for Eren. Waiting for his own execution was indeed a new overwhelmingly terrifying feeling. One he didn’t want to feel now or ever. He wasn’t angry or anxious, he was just sad to be ripped out of his life, leaving everyone behind he cared for. Sorry that he didn’t seem trustworthy enough to the other people he tried to save so desperately. He kind of knew that this fateful day would be coming, but he hoped it wouldn’t happen so soon.

 

Still, dizzy from the previous occurrences, he leans back against the icy cold stone wall. Surprised he realised that his wounds on his head were all wrapped up. He lifted one of his hands to put it on his temple wondering why they even cared to put bandages on. It’s not as if they wouldn’t kill him soon, so why bother? Gliding his fingers over the rough material he noticed that blood was already starting to seep through the thin fabric. Putting too much pressure on his wounds made him flinch as the pain came rushing back. Exhaling a deep sigh, he dropped his arm to his side again. Eren tilted his head upwards, trying to make out something in the dark but it was inevitable. There was not a single ray of light to be seen somewhere like there was no hope for his situation. Not knowing what to do and not wanting to think about his execution, Eren closed his eyes again and gave himself away to the darkness once again.

 

* * *

 

 

* Short before execution *

 

Eren awoke from the clicking sound of keys as they opened the lock to his cell. Opening his eyes, he could make out three people at least. One of them was holding up a torch to light up the surroundings while the other two were carrying heavy chains, probably to restrain Eren properly. Eren didn’t even try to get out of this situation, he just sat there, obediently waiting for them to chain him up with the new shackles. He was done believing that he could survive this situation somehow, Eren just gave up, there was no meaning his life held anymore. There was nothing he could do to change the outcome anyway, so why even try?

 

Once the shackles were in place around his wrists, they waited for him to get up and walk after them. His feet weren’t used to carry his weight for too long, so they gave out under him, and he fell face first on the ground. None of the people even tried to move a single muscle to help him, they were just staring at him, waiting impatiently. For the second time, he fought to stand up and was able to keep his balance and steady his legs. Not waiting too long for Eren to adjust, one of them started to pull the chain from the front, pulling Eren cruelly after him.

 

It wasn’t too long until they reached a big wooden double door, which was heavy guarded by even more people. With a loud crack, the door began to swing open to give way to the bright sunlight. Being in the darkness for too long, Eren was dazzled by the sudden brightness until his eyes got used to the excessive light. What he saw wasn’t making him feel any better.

 

There was a large crowd - like the one in the court – waiting for Eren to pursue his last course.  There was a small path between the masses of people which led to what Eren assumed was the platform where his execution was about to take place in a few minutes. Scrutinising the platform thoroughly Eren wasn’t quite sure how he would be going to be executed, there was no rope to hang him or a guillotine to behead him. He also didn’t think that they would be using their guns with their limited amount of munition. Knowing the higher-ups, he was sure that they chose a method which would resent Eren the most.

 

Pulling Eren after him, his guards already made their way to the raised platform with Eren in tow. Raising his head to look through the large crowd he tried to find his friends but couldn’t find them. It was likely possible that the guards took them into custody that they wouldn’t try something reckless, like trying to rescue Eren. The other possibility was that he maybe hadn’t looked enough. After all, he couldn’t really recall how their faces looked like nor their names. His brain was just a huge fucking mess right now, not even being able to remember the easiest things. How could someone forget what their friends look like? Pretty pathetic, no?

 

The people he walked passed threw rocks at him, shouting that he deserves to die like the monster he is. The folks in the back were cheering that it was finally time for them to be free of all the Titans. All they saw in Eren was a monster which didn’t deserve to live, he was a too big threat, able to turn against humanity at any moment. They didn’t saw a young boy at the age of 16 who saved them. Even if the brunette were to live miles and miles away, they would still demand his head. The saddest part was that Eren didn’t even have his powers anymore, but even if he were to let his arm be chopped off in front of people, for sure, they wouldn’t believe him and claim he wouldn’t let his arm regenerate with his own will. It is always harder to prove the lack of something rather than its existence.

 

Finally, being through the cheering crowd, they reached and climbed the few rotten wood stairs which separated him from his fateful destiny. Reaching the middle of the platform, they forced him once again down on his knees which were already all sore from all the kneeling he had to do these past few days. Eren lowered his head to avoid all the hateful gazes he was sure he was receiving by each and every one of them. Also, he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping everything would be over very soon. The brunette tried to imagine himself being somewhere far away, at a better place with the person he loved. He did try his hardest to remember, but he couldn’t find a face matching his desires. What the fuck was wrong with him?

 

After a few minutes of avidly cheering, the crowd went completely silent, after another moment they began to chatter away in utter shock. Eren couldn’t make out what they were saying but to be honest, he didn’t give a fuck about it anyway. Instead, he concentrated on listening to his heartbeat which was about to stop at any minute now. The chattering got louder which made it pretty hard to focus on himself, but he wasn’t in need of that anymore. Instead, his ears picked up another sound, the sound of the cracking stairs under heavy boots.

 

That person made its way over to him, not stopping until being by Eren’s side. He wasn’t sure about the reason, but when said person came to a stop by his side, facing the crowd, the brunette had to look up immediately. Eren could make out a middle-aged man with the same beautiful mercury eyes - which were staring down at him - he was attracted to before in the courtroom. This time that man was looking at him, his gaze still holding sadness and anger in them and something else Eren couldn’t quite put his finger on. Maybe regret? But why would he show emotion like that? More and more questions were about to pile up in his mind, questions he would never get an answer to.

 

Looking away from his mesmerising irises he saw that the man was wearing a green cloak with one white and one blue wing overlapping each other on the back, it somehow looked so very familiar. But what captivated him the most were the man’s breath-taking eyes. Eren couldn’t renounce from them even for a moment.

 

Unfortunately, Eren wasn’t allowed to enjoy them more, the crowd was already getting impatient, yelling at the man to finally kill that monster. Still hesitating, the man shifted his weight on his right leg, it felt like that man was trying to delay the inevitable occurrence. After a long moment, the older drew a sword, with his right hand, from the device connected to his left side by multiple straps. While resting the sword on Eren’s exposed neck, the man took another step, the last step closer to the boy. Ah, so that was what they were planning for my death, beheaded by a sword. Maybe the most efficient way, eventually it was the weakest spot of a titan and also Eren’s.

 

The brunette could feel the cold metal in contrast to his hot skin at his neck, he didn’t like it one bit, it just felt so unnatural. Eren started to wonder why the man was hesitating so much. At this point, the boy just wanted to get it over with. Being freed from this world partly sounded fantastic. He still had a lot of regrets, but they would hopefully soon disappear. Eren looked up to the azure sky longingly, jealous of the birds, but soon he would be free, like them.

 

Finally, the man held his sword high over Eren’s neck, making sure that the distance to his neck was enough to cut his head off in one strike. After all, Eren deserved to at least have a death as painless as possible.

 

“Any last words, brat?” An unexpectedly smooth voice asked him.

 

With a last earnest smile tucking at the corners of his mouth, he replied, “I’m sorry and thank you…”

 

Before Eren could turn his head away, he saw a lone tear running down the man’s pale cheek. The last words he had heard before the sword made contact with his neck again, were: “Now you can be free…” For some reason, these words saddened him even more, more than he could understand in his current state. All Eren knew was that his time was coming to an end.

The sword came rushing down, tearing through muscles, flesh and bone in one fellow swoop. Crimson blood spraying everywhere, coating the platform and Eren’s executioner in the red liquid.

 

* * *

 

 

* Present time *

 

Eren jolted up in his bed, just now realising that his alarm clock was already ringing for at least thirty minutes. Tears streaming down his face in fat rivulets. That dream just felt way too real, the sadness still clinging to him. How could it be that a dream could feel so genuine and wearing? Not wanting to think about it, he tried to shake it off. Looking at his clock, he realised that he was already late for work, for his very first day in his new job.

 

“Fuck!! Not on my first day!” Eren shouted, untangled himself from his bedsheets and got up from his comfortable bed, still not wanting to leave the soft comfort. He hurried into the bathroom and rushed himself in brushing his teeth fast but thoroughly and putting on his clothes, he foresightedly prepared the day before. Adjusting his outfit consisting of black dress pants, a forest-green button-up shirt matching his eyes perfectly and a black jacket. Satisfied with himself after opening the two buttons at the top of his shirt, he looked into the mirror to check his hair. To his horror, nothing he would be able to do in a few moments would help him getting rid of his bedhead. Growling at his mirror image, he decided without further ado to let it go and rushed out of the front door of his apartment after putting on his black shoes and grabbing the keys and purse from the shoe cupboard.

 

 

Living only ten minutes by foot away from his new working place was quite nice. Even though being late he decided to walk. Traffic at this hour would be horrific, and he sure would be even later than walking there. Eren took to his heels and sprinted down a back alley to get to the main street’s intersection. Luck surely wasn’t on his side today. After reaching the crossroad, the traffic lights for pedestrians turned red. “Ah, come on! I’m already running late; why does this have to happen today. That’s the worst impression you can make on your first day,” Mumbling to himself and thinking about his chaotic morning, he almost missed that the lights turned to green.

 

Exhaling a deep breath, already accepting to be late, he started crossing the street.  Not the easiest part if you consider the crowds of people clashing against each other - slipping through the small gaps between the people -  from each side of the street. So, it was likely possible to bump into other people, especially for Eren, sometimes he could be a little clumsy.

 

Bumping into another man he quickly bowed his head, lifting his head again to look the other person in the eyes, he apologised. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. There are just so many people today...- “ The last words of his sentence died on his lips. His emerald eyes meeting mercury ones, instantly captivated by the enchanting irises of the man. Eren didn’t quite notice anything else than those delectable steel grey eyes. They seemed so familiar, resembling the one in his dream. “Don’t worry about it,” the man chivalrous replied in a voice which was a smooth as silk. Eren was unable to help himself but giving the man a dazzling smile upon hearing the man’s voice. The man as well wasn’t able to look away, above all that he received such a beautiful smile of the boy.

 

Bathing in each other’s gazes they paused motionless for a few moments until one of the cars started honking that they both would get off the street. Finally, able to break the gaze, they both hurried away into the opposite direction but not without looking back over their shoulders making eye contact for one last time. Maybe being late isn’t as bad as he thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for killing our dear Eren.. But it kinda was the decisive point to get the whole story going.
> 
> What do you think of it? Let me know! Hope it wasn't too bad.
> 
> Comments containing criticism, questions or anything else are welcome, so don't be shy :)


	2. The All-Changing Assignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First days are never meant to be easy. Eren's new assignment seems to be impossible at first, but how could he possibly turn down the job in exchange to learn more about his past?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the long delay. It's just that life happenend and it was quite troublesome these last few months. But I'm back now, hopefully updating more often.  
> Story is not beta'd and english isn't my mother tongue, so don't wonder if there will be a few (hopefully only a few) mistakes.  
> There is no Eren-Levi interaction in this chapter but there will be next chapter.
> 
> Now, please enjoy! :)

Finally, Eren made it to the headquarters. It was a tall building, about 40 storeys high with a sparkling glass front encircling the top like a crown, the building cast its familiar silhouette on the street. His first day was supposed to begin 30 minutes ago, he hoped sincerely that it wouldn’t make a too bad impression. Even though he woke up late today, he would have done it, if it weren’t for that very attractive man he met at the intersection. After being able to take his eyes off the man, Eren was so caught up in his thoughts that he lost his way a couple of times. These mesmerising steel grey irises were all he had on his mind, his thoughts went consequently back to that picture of these depths, which was etched in his memory. It was like being in a trance, his thoughts just kept circling around that one particular occurrence.

 

Nervously, he made his way over to the double-doored entrance, still hesitating to push it open. “Get a grip on yourself, man. The longer you take, the worse it will get,” He mumbled to himself. Taking a deep breath, he willed himself and opened the door to his new life.

 

Eren always thought that working in the headquarters was kind of hectic. People bustling about everywhere, documents lying around. He would have never thought that it would be clean, a sterile cleanliness. That would have been the last word he thought of describing the interior of the FBI. Standing still, he looked around, mustering everything. The reception area was like in a high-class hotel, marble tiles on the ground, simple but stylish furnishings. There was a waiting area to his left with only a few occupied chairs by people apparently waiting for their appointment. On his right side was a huge room signed as a hall for the press to hold conferences in it.

 

Still nervous as hell, he walked to the reception desk. Sitting behind was a man with a small beard and long blond hair which was tied tightly to a bun and folded at the back to keep his hair to falling into his face. The man’s serious face did little to lift Eren’s nervousness, in fact, it made him even tenser. His name was Eld Jinn if one could trust the name tag attached to his cardigan.

 

“Hi, I’m Eren Yeager. I’m starting to work here today. I need to get to Mr Smith’s office. Would you be so kind to explain to me how to get there, please?” Eren stated, hoping that the man wouldn’t notice is lateness. Eren knew in an instant that luck surely wasn’t on his side as the man looked at his watch. Raising an eyebrow, he looked back at Eren, expecting an answer. First days are never meant to be easy.

 

“I know, I was supposed to be here half an hour ago, but I kind of got lost on my way here more than once,” He excused, hoping that he wouldn’t be caught lying, thanks to his slightly shaky voice. Even if the receptionist did notice, he wasn’t saying anything, maybe just to be nice or not caring about other people’s problems.

 

“You are neither the first nor the last one to run late on his first day. We don’t want to delay you even more with pointless small-talk. Go through that detector after putting your bag and the content of your pockets into that boy. After collecting your belongings, take the elevator to the highest level and go straight to the desk of Mr Smith’s secretary, Petra Ral. She’ll know the details,” He instructed, indifference apparently underlying his tone.

 

Eren did as he was told and found himself a few minutes later in front of the desk of said Petra Ral. A petit strawberry-blond woman. She was trying to handle people on the phone and typing something into her computer at a fast pace. “I’m sorry, Sir. Mr Smith’s timetable is full, at least for the next two weeks. If it isn’t an emergency, then I can’t do anything for you... No, there is also no room for me to squeeze you in between other appointments... If you want, I can put your name down for Wednesday in two weeks, would that be alright with you? Otherwise, you must wait even longer if we don’t set a date... Yes, I can do that. Have a beautiful day. Goodbye.” She let out a huge sigh after finally putting down the receiver.

 

“Hello dear, you must be Eren. We were already waiting for you, gotten lost on your way here?” she asked, with a knowing smile on her face. Eren only nodded as a reply, getting nervous all over again. The telephone started ringing again, and her smiling face instantly gave way to an annoying one. “Mr Smith is expecting you. His office is the third door on the right side. I’ll be waiting for you when you’re finished,” She shortly instructed. Nodding again, he turned around, and moments later he stood in front of the implied door.

 

Taking all his courage together, he knocked on the door, waiting to be allowed inside. “Come in,” A clear, yet stern voice replied to his knock. Pushing the metal handle down, he pushed the door open and entered his new boss’ office. Closing the door behind him, Eren took in the view of the big and tastefully decorated room. There was a clear concept visible. Every single kind of furniture was made of wood or was wood imitated. It was like a red lead present in any of his furniture. There was a wooden shelf extended over the whole wall, proximately six meters, and as high as the ceiling. It was filled with lots of various types of folders, each one of them likely to belong to another case.  His boss was sitting at a large table in front of the glass front in the middle of the room.  To Eren’s left side, in front of the desk was a big TV on the wall, currently showing the intern news of the FBI. He would have tried to concentrate on the incoming story to calm his nerves, but he simply couldn’t.

 

It was quiet, too quiet for his liking. The only sound was coming from his boss scribbling something on the file before him. With every passed second Eren grew more anxious. He wasn’t quite sure if he should say something or if he simply should wait for his boss to start a conversation. Eren is a talkative guy who sometimes doesn’t know when to shut his mouth, but he was also often hesitating to start a conversation, especially when he was supposed to speak to higher ups. For a few minutes, he just stood there, like a deer caught in the light. He had to break the uncomfortable silence.

 

“I owe you an apology for running late today on my first day, Sir. I’m terribly sorry, I just kinda overslept today, and I got lost a couple of times,” Eren said sheepishly, rubbing his neck with his right hand. Erwin’s hand stilled upon hearing Eren talk. He sat up straight and put his pen down, folded his hands and looked at Eren for the first time the boy had entered his office.

 

“Have a seat, please, Mr Jaeger,” Erwin replied, pointing at the chair in front of his desk. As being told, Eren made his way over to sit down. Unclenching his hands and rubbing his slightly sweaty palms on his pants, he slowly lifted his head to make eye contact with his boss. He didn’t dare to say anything, instead waited for Erwin to continue.

 

“I appreciate your honesty, Mr Jaeger-,” Eren slightly relaxed, letting out his breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Relief washed over him, only just for a short time until Erwin spoke again.

 

“But I also value punctuality,” Erwin continued, making Eren gulp down the accumulated saliva in his mouth. “To be honest, you wouldn’t believe how many people are running late on their very first day. So, it’s fine, don’t dwell on it. As long as it doesn’t become a habit, it won’t be used against you,” He said with a sliver of a smile on his face. Eren’s body went lax, relieving itself from the previous strain. Letting his head fall back, he let out a small sigh.

 

Looking up at the ceiling, he closed his eyes, taking a few moments before he finally looked at Erwin again and replied, a small smile gracing his lips, “Seriously, I was so nervous the whole time. Being afraid that your reaction would somewhat be negative regarding me working here. I’m so relieved right now,” It was easier to talk to Erwin, now that he was finally able to relax.

 

“I’m sure you’re still wondering why I called for you. If it wasn’t for you being late, what else would I want from you? There is a simple answer to that question that you just don’t know yet,” Eren shifted in his seat, focusing on Erwin. The older male picked up the remote control for the TV and slowly turned up the volume. “Tell me what you can see or what you think this is about,” Erwin requested, looking at the TV.

 

Taking in all the information showed on the TV, Eren’s mind tried to make a connection between them. There was a whole bunch of FBI agents at a crime scene, surrounding a dead male body, lying prone on his back on the street. His skull was slightly cracked open, and his limbs were unnaturally bent in different directions. He was lying in a pool of blood, most likely his own. The ground around the body was also stained with blood. There were quite a few blood splatters around the body, which looked like he landed hard on the concrete and cracked his skull as he crashed on the ground. Which meant that the man must have fallen from a high place, maybe a roof of a building with many storeys if the distance of the splatters to the body were any indication for it. Eren wasn’t sure if the guy was murdered or just committed suicide. There wasn’t a clear indication for murder, at least not that he could detect one.

 

“I would guess that he was killed? Otherwise, I wouldn’t understand why you would want me to think what this could be about, am I right? Nonetheless, I am not a 100 percent sure that he was murdered, because there is no visible wound, at least I can’t see one in the position he is lying,” Eren concluded. Everything else forgotten, his mind was wrapped around that case now solemnly. Looking back at Erwin he quirked an eyebrow to imply that he was already waiting for an answer.

 

“You’re right, this isn’t a simple case of suicide, that wouldn’t really fit into our area of responsibility. There is always more than what meets the eye. Let me show you a few pictures of the victim,” Erwin declared. Instead of further analysing the crime scene, Eren’s eyes met a several number of images on the TV screen. The photos showed the victim lying on his stomach, missing a chunk of flesh in his neck. It was a deep but clean cut, done by a very sharp sword if the smooth wound was any indication. There were surely not many people who could pull a stunt like that, that murderer knew his handiwork to the finest detail. “No traces were being left, of course. Whoever did this, hasn’t done it for the first time. The man was dead before he was thrown down of a building, his death was caused by severing the spinal cord. By cutting through it, there won’t be any stimuli transmitted from body to brain or vice versa. The upholding of the bodily functions is not possible, and the victim dies in a matter of seconds. So, tell me Eren, haven’t you already heard of similar cases?” Erwin asked, tilting his head slightly.

 

His brain was grabbing randomly facts related to cases like that. It took Eren a few moments to latch onto the information he needed. It not only sounded familiar, but he had also already seen it with his very own eyes, he would never be able to forget this horrifying sight. There was only one person who could have been related to that, a reputable one, nonetheless.

 

“The assassin of the Mafia you would call to get rid of anybody…” Eren murmured quietly, still not getting the connection between the case and himself.

 

“You have to speak up if you want to be heard, Mr Jaeger. In precarious situations, it can be fatal to not speak properly. It can mean death. So, do yourself a favour and don’t fall into that habit,” Erwin points out convincingly. “Good that I still have perfect hearing. And yes, you’re right. He is a top rate assassin of the Mafia. We don’t know very much about him, just that it seems he has a code of not killing women or children. Other than that, we have no idea about him regarding anything. No name, no face, no voice, no anything.”

 

“What makes you think that he doesn’t kill women or children. It’s not like he made a statement, did he?”

 

“We are thorough with our research. He always kills in the exact same way. The similarity to all his cases is the way of killing his victims, the cause of death has always been the severing of the spinal cord. There may be different circumstances how we find the corpses, but in the end, it has always been the same. After the first few months of his killing streak, the media labelled him as _Enma-ō_.”

 

“The _Enma-ō_ in relation to the death god?” Eren waited to continue until he was assured by Erwin’s nod that he was indeed talking about the death god. “ _Enma-ō_ , the king of the land of the waiting dead. The one who judges souls and kills the people who he deemed to deserve to die, torturing them in a land of eternal toil and punishment,” Eren explained, more or less talking to himself. “But how can you be sure that he hasn’t changed his way of killing that other cases won’t be related to him?”

 

“Maybe there were a few at the beginning of his ‘career’ or before he worked for the Mafia but I doubt it. A serial killer generally develops his trademark rather early. He wants the world to know him, to show what he is capable of. We tried to catch him for the last three years without success. In the end, our agents have been killed, and we haven’t gained any information about him or the Mafia so far. Despite that, _Enma-ō_ seems to be the most approachable person. We don’t have any clues about the other people working for the Mafia. We had our agents try to infiltrate the only open link, the assassin. Unfortunately for us, he is tremendously suspicious of other people, it seems that he works alone. It’s like catching smoke with your bare hands, impossible without a helping tool. Means, that it was a dead end so far as well, until recently.”

 

The situation, like Erwin, explained seemed helpless. Even if this person was their only way to get in, it was impossible to get into contact with him even less to maintain said contact without him noticing that something is going on. The organisation made a pretty good job of making sure that everyone kept silent. They practically had no other lead than the assassin. Eren was trapped in his thoughts again until Erwin finished with an ‘ _until recently’_. His concentration was now fully on Erwin again, impatiently awaiting the older male to continue his train of thought.

 

“A few weeks ago, we were contacted by someone working for the Mafia, his name is Farlan. We don’t know his reason for contacting us, he also hasn’t given us much information about the Mafia, but he can give us a much-needed chance to get in touch with the assassin and infiltrate the Mafia.”

 

“Isn’t that great? So, how is the operation going? Have you already made progress?”

 

“You still don’t quite understand the reason for you to be standing in front of me right now. We haven’t started the operation yet, to be more exactly, we couldn’t. There was still one major problem, most of our faces are known by the Mafia. We had to wait for the new recruits to arrive, especially you, Mr Jaeger.”

 

“I’m sorry if I am presumptuous, but are you saying… that I should be the one… to infiltrate them?”

 

“That’s exactly what I was trying to convey. They can’t have any information about you and- “

 

“B-but I just got out of the academy! You can’t give me such an important assignment. I’m just a beginner after all. It would be almost sure that I would blow up the operation and waste the only chance we’ve got. There would be so many other people more qualified than me…” Eren cut him off.

 

“Eren, you have been by far the best absolvent this year, you are the most promising one. We have been keeping our tracks on you for the last months, and we were positively surprised at how much you have evolved,” Erwin said, flattering Eren to get him into doing this assignment.

 

“With all respect, Sir, but flattery won’t get you anywhere. I’m just not convinced that I am suitable to carry that heavy burden. I don’t want to mess this up, it is too important…” Eren stammered with a still light rose tint on his cheeks.

 

“I know of your reason why you joined the FBI and I also know that this assignment would be a great chance for you to find out the truth. If you agree to take on the job, I would be willing to give you the hidden files for your individual case. There are a lot of things you don’t know about your _situation_ , but now you have the chance to solve that puzzle. There won’t be another one, be wise in your choice,” Erwin just stated, a knowing smirk on his face. He already knew exactly that Eren would take the bait.

 

Eren was slightly taken aback. He hasn’t told anyone about his reason for joining the FBI. It could have been somehow clear if they had a look at his past life. Still, it made him quite uncomfortable to talk about that topic and being pressured to take that mission on. He clearly wasn’t afraid of his well-being possibly getting destroyed. He just didn’t want to mess this up, he didn’t want to accept the assignment, but Erwin’s offer was deliciously tempting. Meanwhile, Erwin propped his elbows on the table, folding his hands them loosely together and rested his chin on top of it as he waited for the youth to come to the only possible conclusion, agreeing to do this assignment. Erwin could see the struggle in the boy’s eyes, but he knew for sure that his offer was just too tempting to turn down.

 

Eren was torn in his innermost being, there was just too much he still had to learn about that case. He hasn’t come to term with his past yet, there were too many unsolved mysteries. His family circumstances were also far from a loving family. To be honest, all he had left was his good-for-nothing father, but Eren thought that even without him he would be better off.

 

‘You can’t pick your family’, a painful truth he had to learn about often. A sad smile grazed Eren’s face for a fleeting moment as he was lost in his painful thoughts once again. He lost his mother early in his life, and his father was just somehow there but didn’t care in the slightest about Eren. All he had were a handful of good friends he considered as his family. Blood is thicker than water? Definitely not in his case. Considering everything, it clearly would be his best shot to solve the riddles covering his past.

 

Closing his eyes and running a short but meaningful pro and contra list through his head he decided to go along with Erwin’s offer. What could he possibly lose? “Alright, I’ll do it. Don’t be too disappointed if I blow it up before it even really started. I really hope that I won’t mess this up for the sake of us all.”

 

A triumphant smile grazed Erwin’s lips. “I’m delighted to hear that. We have high hopes for your future. I, personally, am sure that you won’t mess this up. If you do as you did back then in the academy, then you will have successfully completed this assignment in a blink of an eye. All required documents are already waiting for you on your desk.”

 

“I will start right away, Sir. What about these other documents you were talking about? How do I get access to them?” He slowly questioned, testing the water.

 

“That’s already been taken care of. The documents are on your desk as well. Don’t let anybody else know that you got them.  It is already a violation of the rules to hand them over to you,” He warned Eren. Erwin knew that he couldn’t really get into trouble by giving these papers to Eren, above all now that Eren worked for him. Still, it wouldn’t do the boy any good if somebody else knew about their little deal. It was always better to be safe than sorry.

 

A bit unsure what to say or what to do, Eren just stood there, shifting his weight from one foot to another awkwardly. “So… shall I just go now?” It was more a question than a statement, but it still was confirmed as Erwin lowered his gaze on the documents before him, took his pen and started signing papers again. More relieved than offended, the brunette made his way to the door. As he was about to push it open, Erwin spoke again, “Petra, my secretary, will be waiting for you outside of this room. She will show you around your new working place. You will be working alone on that case, so we will provide you with a private office. If you have questions or make progress, come and see me. There aren’t many people knowing about this assignment, and we would like to leave it at that. I wish you good luck, but I’m sure you won’t need it,” With a wink of his hand, he dismissed Eren.

 

A substantial conversation, which only took mere minutes, was hard to accept on his empty stomach. It made Eren try to swallow around the lump, that once again formed in his throat. He wasn’t so sure about everything, but at least one person was believing in him, which helped a lot.

 

Without further interruptions, he finally pushed the door open and was indeed greeted by a friendly smile of Petra. After the door had fallen into lock behind him, all his nervousness fell from his shoulders. He could breathe again, think clearly and regret the decision he made a moment before. He already made the deal, so there was no room to fret about it now. Somehow, he would be able to manage it, he had no idea how but perhaps there was a path he just couldn’t see right now.

 

With the tension still not leaving his body altogether, he faked a shy smile and looked at the woman in front of him. Smiling felt false after thinking about his past, after all, there hasn’t been the tiniest spark of joy.  It wasn’t the first time that faking emotions helped him out in various kinds of situations. Still, there were no other possibilities to cope with some parts of his life. Over the years no one could determine between a fake and a real smile anymore, he perfected it after all. Telling the truth was the last he would be willing to do, emotions are weaknesses, and many people would exploit them. So, hell no, he was never going to show his true self to anyone – vulnerable, sad, betrayed, heartbroken and alone. Before melancholy could take over, he pushed all the lingering thoughts and regrets to the far back of his mind, to deal with them later, alone - _again_. Collecting himself for a split second, he raised his eyebrow for a silent question as to what would happen next.

 

A little embarrassed for not talking immediately, distracted by his smile, she began, “I am assigned to show you around. Do you want the big tour or will the small tour do for now?”

 

“I think I’m okay with you showing me around another time, for today I had enough of people. I would you like to show me my office so I can start right away with my work,” He replied, with a touch of false friendliness underlying his tone.

 

An understanding expression showed on her face which gave way to a friendly one in an instant. She turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, signing with her hand for Eren to follow her. Eren instantaneously followed along through the many corridors she was leading them.

 

“I get what you mean, Mr Smith can be intense sometimes. He takes his job very seriously. Eventually, he didn’t become our boss for nothing, he put a lot of effort into his work and solved quite a few challenging cases. He can be demanding, but only to those people who he knows can handle it,” Petra started the conversation again, still manoeuvring them through the endless halls, compiled as a labyrinth.

 

Ultimately, she came to a stop in front of what Eren supposed was his office. Pulling a silver key out of her jacket’s pocket, she waved Eren closer. “Don’t be disappointed, it’s a rather old room which hasn’t been used for some time. It’s dusty and not that up to date like other offices, but it should do for now. If you want, you can also take those files with you and work at home. We don’t usually allow it, but since you are working on a particular case, you also get to be treated specially,” She explained while unlocking and opening the door.

 

Petra was indeed right; thick layers of dust were accumulating on every surface possible. The office itself was unexpectedly spacious, a wooden desk – with a telephone and three boxes of documents on top - in the middle of the room, some shelves attached to the walls behind them. There was even enough space to accommodate a small couch and a coffee table to his right side.

 

“Nah, it’s fine, I don’t need special treatment. And I like this office, with a bit of cleaning it’ll look like new. Thank you for showing me the way, I’m gonna start cleaning now. I’ll be okay on my own,” Eren smiled at her again, a touch more honest than before. He still couldn’t wait to get rid of her and get his hands on those files his entire being was longing for. He often didn’t know how to interact with other people politely, but right now he didn’t care at all.

 

Sensing the urgency in Eren’s tone, Petra supposed it would be the best for her to leave him to his own devices. “If you need anything just call me, my number is the second one in the one-touch dialling memory. Mr Smith’s number is the first one; there are more numbers saved, but I’ll tell you more about it when you get to know the owner of the different numbers. So, if you’ll excuse me now, I still have plenty of work to do for today. Good luck with your case and guess I’ll see you later,” She excused herself and instantly started walking away. Eren glanced at her sideways, mumbled a quiet ‘see you later’ and waited a moment to finally close the door after withdrawing the key.

 

The walk to his desk was short, even more with the growing anticipation to learn more about the cases. Opening the top of the boxes, he skimmed through the different files quickly. With every passing record, his mood went down the drain. He had three boxes in total; one for his own case. Two folders with gathered information about the assassin and the rest of the folders were his murder cases, as well as the last box. There really wasn’t much information to work with.

 

Sighing, he hung his head low, a hand ruffling through his already messy hair.

 

“What have I gotten myself into?”

 

* * *

 

 

Levi didn’t bother to close the door properly, just slammed it shut. The sound was reverberating throughout the whole apartment. Kicking his boots off his feet, he made his way into his spacious office, completely ignoring his dog, which happily lunged himself at Levi. Too occupied with his thoughts, he didn’t pay attention to the obvious whines of the neglected dog. All he could think of now were those eyes in which he could lose himself if he wouldn’t be careful. Sure, the boy’s eyes were stunning, but there was something else about him, that had bugged him the whole day.

 

In the middle of his last meeting, he finally remembered why the boy looked so familiar. His face contours reminded him of a woman he knew from one of his previous assignments. Her face had been embedded into his brain at the exact moment they have met. The only significant difference were those forest-green eyes, instead of deer-brown ones with a light greenish shade in the light. There was no way he would ever forget that woman’s succinct face, after all that day his life changed for the worse. He had to make many decisions in his life, more bad ones than good ones but never ever had he regretted making one like he did that day. After all, hadn’t he been such a fool, many lives wouldn’t have been lost. He often thought about that day, what he should have done instead of running away from his responsibilities like a coward.

 

Life is full of highs and lows, excitement and terror, fun and frustration. Learning to control or adapt to these variables can help you prepare for them. The challenge begins with your mind. Peace, power, calm and focus are critical. To obtain these qualities, one must train and get his mind to a state of awareness.

 

If Levi only knew about all that in his younger years, maybe he could have prevented his greatest mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments containing criticism, questions or anything else are welcome, so don't be shy :)


	3. Graveyard Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy childhood? Wrong! They both didn't have it easy when they were younger, but you can't change what has happened already. Or do you think that anyone would choose killing over having a loving family?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back :)
> 
> I'm sorry for withholding this chapter for so long. I had this chapter finished for quite some time, but it got way too long, so I first decided to shorten it, but in the end, I just cut it off at a fitting extract from the text. But that also means that the next chapter shouldn't take too long to finish writing. Not beta'd, but I got a new program for detecting mistakes. I hope it worked. It also could be that there will be a few changes to the first chapter and for the time being, I decided to write 25 chapters but I'm not sure about that yet.
> 
> Enjoy reading :)
> 
>  
> 
> Trigger Warning: Graphic description of violence, murder

Files and all sorts of sheets were scattered unevenly all over his office’s floor. It was a mess, not only the obvious one in front of him but also the chaos inside his head. Completely immersed in his thoughts, he even successfully suppressed his inner voice, telling him to clean up. Yes, he was a clean freak, and nobody would be able to find a single speck of dust or a lone dog hair but he was also a human and every human has weak moments. Of course, he wasn’t keen on showing them to anyone, but sometimes it just couldn’t be helped. At least, he was alone except for his dog - Amaterasu -, whose whines were slowly perceived by his ears. Right now, Levi himself was in distress; there was no way for him to comfort his dog and get his thoughts on order at the same time. He reminded himself to give her lots of cuddles and favourite treats later.

 

For now, he had to get himself into line first. Maybe Levi was overthinking things, but he was so sure that the boy had the exact same facial features as that woman back then. How could that be possible? The earth is a vast place, so how big were the chances of Levi meeting the boy? It was like his past was haunting him, taunting him over the mistakes he had made. He hoped he suffered enough already, for destiny to not fuck with his life again. His regret sat deeply within him, not ever leaving him for a second, clinging to him until death would take him. He hadn’t chosen to live his life like that for a fun factor; he was forced into it, his intention to survive even greater than any hurdle he would be burdened with in the future.

 

His mother died early when Levi was only seven. Their landlord was a sick fucker only concerned about his advantage, not ever caring about anyone else. His mother had been ill for a longer period, but she had to earn money to pay for rent and food. She was willing to sacrifice everything literally for his son, even her health. As she asked for a postponement for the rent, their landlord only laughed like a maniac telling her to pay punctual, or she can look for another accommodation. Of course, it was beyond debate to move somewhere else, so she just worked even harder despite being sick. She got thinner every day; looking palely sick, and it didn’t take long for death to claim her. There weren’t any savings, and their landlord was an avaricious little shit. Only thinking about himself, compassion was not a word available in his restricted vocabulary. He threw Levi out on the day the landlord learnt about his mother’s death. It didn’t matter to him that Levi was alone, had no family, nor a single penny to feed himself with. He wasn’t even given time to mourn about his mother adequately. He was a fucking small child, which didn’t know a single thing about cruelty disguised as humans.

 

He had nowhere to go, nowhere to be, aimlessly wandering around the city. Left alone to his own devices he tried to survive. At first, he sought for money, clothes and food. You think being a child was enough to attract attention to get supplies? Of course, it wasn’t; there was never a thing in Levi’s life to make it easier on him. Even as a child he was always wearing a terribly grim expression on his face, looking like he didn’t give a flying fuck about anything. Wasn’t it normal to not show a happy face when you are living on the streets? What was there for him to be happy about, being alive without being loved or cared for? Since his mother died, there hadn’t been a single moment in his life when his lips would crack and form an honest smile. Sometimes he had wished to be dead, to reunite with his beloved mother again but he was too much of a coward to kill himself. So, he had to bear with every pebble, stone or rock life threw him on his way. He was grateful for everything he got, tough he was barely able to forbid death to take him. For every day, he had lived on the street, his anger against the whole world grew.

 

After about six months his anger overtook his rational availability to think clearly. Ruled by his emotions, one day, he found himself in front of his former landlord’s house. It was like his body had been controlled by another force. He was aware of all the things he had done to the owner, but he just couldn’t stop himself. He had been watching from another perspective, not doing these atrocities himself. Yes, he hated the man, but nobody deserved to be maltreated like that. What he did was cruelly inhumane, and he remembered every single detail like it just happened yesterday. He held a butcher’s knife in his small hand, blood running down, along with his underarm until fat droplets collected at his elbow and dropped on the wooden floor to form a steadily growing puddle beneath him. He had been fascinated by the beautiful crimson colour of the liquid the moment he first saw it and had been enthralled by the fact that a human body contained this enormous amount of blood.

 

Levi wanted the man to die slowly, painfully. After all, he deserved everything that came his way, at least that’s what Levi thought consumed by his never-ending animosity and fury. Levi wanted him to suffer, to let him feel how he felt while being neglected by every soul. Not being satisfied with only killing the man, in his rage he tried to cut the man into pieces but the knife wasn’t nearly big or sharp enough to slice through bones, so he settled for cutting off a few fingers, an ear and eventually his tongue. The landlord hoped to be swallowed by unconsciousness fast, fighting tears of fear and pain but fate wasn’t on his side. Levi pressed the tip of the knife to the man’s chest right where his heart sat inside. He didn’t hesitate for a moment and started pushing the blade firmly into the man’s chest, straight into his heart. He began struggling as blood began filling his lungs, threatening him to suffocate; blood began to gurgle up his throat, spilling over his lips. The man tried to fight the inevitable upcoming of his death, the light in his eyes slowly began to fade as he welcomed his end and succumbed to the endless darkness surrounding him for eternity.

 

Levi stood slightly bent over the dead body, his eyes now equally lifeless as the corpse lying at his feet.  After realising that the man was already dead, he felt his anger bubbling anew; he started slicing open his stomach, ripping apart everything within. Levi had wanted to strangle the man with his intestines, to mash his once beating heart, to hear him beg for forgiveness and for having mercy. None of that happened, but at least he had the pleasure to hear him scream and see him cry. Oh, he would have loved to torture the man some more to satiate his thirst for revenge completely, but his anger beat him to it.

 

His landlord had been his first victim, but there were so many more people who followed him into a painful death. After killing the man, Levi took all the money he could find and fled the scene hoping to not leave any traces behind which was highly possible. Even after executing the most inhuman act, he felt a high he hasn’t felt for quite a while. He was finally able to breathe again and to enjoy life by buying enough food to fill him, bought clothes to keep him warm. There was a tiny part of him that felt joy again, he felt like he wanted to keep on living, to experience all the things this cruel world would throw at him. Killing somebody was a small price he was more than willing to pay for happiness. Being happy always comes with a price to pay, since his first murder everything seemed the same for him, the whole world was a shade of grey.

 

Of course, luck wasn’t on his side. After a few days, the police had been already searching for him all over the city. He was hiding at various hideouts, but even that was hardly manageable if your face is all over the news. After tasting delicious freedom, he would never want to go back to the life of poverty. He ran and ran and ran but in the end; all his efforts were for nought. One night, when he thought that the police had been hot on his tail, he had an all-changing encounter. Right in front of his eyes was nobody less than his long-missing uncle, Kenny.

 

“Look what we have here; in need of some help, kid?” Kenny enquired with a toothy smile while extending his hand, well knowing that Levi would take any opportunity now. Levi looked up at him, reaching for the older man’s hand, only hesitating for a split second before taking it at last. After all, there was nothing for him to lose anymore.

 

The ringing sound of his phone finally pulled him out of his almost never-ending misery. Disregarding the still obvious mess in his office, he went to get his jacket to retrieve his phone. Speaking of the devil, the caller was none other than Kenny himself. Levi thought a moment about answering the call but decided against it. There would be no one he would like to talk to for the rest of the day, nobody alive that is. After turning his phone into mute modus, he carelessly tossed it aside, disregarding where it landed.

 

Levi hoped that day would be over sooner rather than later. Pinching the back of his nose between forefinger and thumb, he thought about his task, which he should get done by today. There were too many things to do, but honestly, there wasn’t one he would like to do, except for one. Right on cue, Levi could already hear the loud clacking sound of nails against the parquet flooring. After realising that his dog won’t stop this time but jump on him, he braced himself for the impact. Amaterasu wasn’t a small dog; she was a fully grown white Siberian Husky with a subtle greyish colouring from the back of her nose along her back to the tip of her tail. She also had heterochromatic eyes, one was a hue of icy-blue, and the other one was the colour of soothing gold with a few specks of blue. She was a beautiful dog and thanks to Levi’s efforts she was also entirely obedient if she wanted to.

 

She wouldn’t risk another telling-off from Levi, so she didn’t slow down one bit and lunged herself at Levi with a big-ass jump. The undeniable impact made him stumble backwards until his back hit the wall with a loud thud. He slowly slid down, with the dog in his arms, until he was seated on the floor. Amaterasu, ignorant of her mistake, happily licked all over Levi’s face with her rough structured tongue while wagging her tail like mad. Despite being more than an advocate for cleanness, he didn’t feel revulsion crawling up his skin as she licked all the places she could reach with her incredibly long tongue. Small chuckles escaped his lips which slowly grew to whole-heartedly laughter. Levi could never be mad at her.

 

“There you are, beautiful. I think it’s time for dinner, isn’t it? And how about those promised cuddles afterwards? I bet you would love it,” Levi mused while scratching Amaterasu’s sweet spot behind her ear. He led his other hand glide through her silky fur, truly satisfied with the result of his every-day-combing. At the word ‘dinner’ her ears perked up and she tilted her head, interested in the rest Levi would tell her. The Raven tried to slowly get up from his not so comfortable spot on the floor, not quite succeeding with his dog literally sitting on his lap. Finally getting the hint, Amaterasu stood up, turned around and started running towards the kitchen, slipping here and there on the smooth surface of the parquet.

 

Following his dog into the luxurious kitchen, he already saw her sitting in front of the fridge, tail thudding against the floor in a slow rhythm. He could feel her eyes on him, scrutinising his every move:  opening the refrigerator, pulling out her bowl, opening the lid, carefully adding a few essential supplements. Of course, Levi didn’t go for the easiest way to buy his dog commercial pet food. He bought the ingredients like raw meat, raw meaty bones, fruits and vegetables, offal, eggs and dairy food for her BARF diet. Sometimes additions like cow blood, fish oil or alga were used. He had a weekly plan for his dog, preparing every meal beforehand. Yes, it was a very time-consuming and pricey method, but he would do anything to maintain her health, even giving her the full treatment. She already sat in her usual spot, waiting for Levi to place the bowl on the ground finally. As he did so, she still waited for his command of consent. After giving her an almost inaudible ‘go’, he waited a moment for her to dig in before he went into the open living room to make himself comfortable on his nearly too big leather couch.

 

He laid on his back, one foot planted flat on the sofa while the other was still planted on the ground. He propped himself up on a few fluffy pillows and made it just in time before Amaterasu jumped on him again for the umpteenth time, her muzzle comfortably nuzzled into his neck, sniffing his scent while her cold nose brushed the sensitive skin on his neck causing goose bumps to rise now and then. He always did like to run his hands through her fur, and Amaterasu simply loved the undivided attention. The warmth of the dog made him feel safe, not alone and truly needed; it was the only way for him to finally relax and calm his nerves.

 

While ruffling through her fur, he started thinking again whether it was the right time to visit Carla’s grave. It has been a long while, and he couldn’t make any excuses anymore, especially not after meeting the boy who looked almost exactly like her. With determination in his eyes, he willed himself to go after having dinner himself.

 

* * *

 

There was no end in sight to work through that many murderer cases, which Eren tried to read carefully to not miss a single detail. There was no useful information in them; it was hopeless. How would he ever be able to solve this case if he already failed at the first step to gather information?  Eren was known for his impulsive actions, for solving problems quickly not for being patient. His nerves were rather running thin now, there was just no helpful information, like at all.

 

The more he read about the cases, the more interesting they seemed to become. After reading all the different files, Eren became slightly infuriated with the assassin. The man was doing his work beautifully, all clean and nothing unnecessary. It was a grotesque kind of art, but Eren was amazed by it. He knew he shouldn’t be, but he simply couldn’t help it, there was something special about it.

 

Some victims were being tortured, and others were killed rather fast. The cause of death was always the same and easy to comprehend, there was never a hint that the murderer would want to taint the truth. Eren concluded that what happened to the bodies afterwards wasn’t the assassin’s doing, like throwing them off a building or sink them in a river.

 

Sighing, he angrily shoved all the files away from him, heard them scatter and fall to the ground but didn’t care at all. How could he already fail if he hasn’t even started yet? He leant back in his chair, letting his head fall on the backrest, covering his face with both hands. Eren wasn’t known for his patience but his splendid instincts. That’s also why he gets frustrated quickly if something isn’t going his way, at least when it’s about going through files. Running his hands through his hair, he concluded to stop for the day and maybe visit his mother’s grave.

 

He hasn’t been there for a while, trying to avoid it somewhat. His mother had been dead fourteen years now, but to Eren, it still felt like yesterday when he lost her. Of course, it wasn’t easy for him to visit her grave but it would calm his nerves a bit because it is the only way for him to feel connected to her anymore. While visiting he always gets overwhelmed by deep sadness and regret, yet it always helped him to clear his mind of unnecessary things which was very welcome now. He likewise knew very well that it also meant he would go clubbing afterwards which will probably conclude in getting laid to forget the overwhelming sadness, over his mother’s death, shortly.

 

To not back down on his word, he instantly stood up from his comfortable chair manoeuvring himself around the various sheets on the ground without stepping on them to avoid crumpling them, after all these were still important documents. Files already forgotten, he padded to the bathroom for a quick yet thorough shower, to wash the day’s sweat and nervousness off his skin. A hot shower would permanently be the best to end a hard day and to relax ultimately. Turning off the shower, he took a towel from beneath the sink and wrapped it loosely around his hip, while walking through his ocean-style bedroom into his walk-in wardrobe.

 

Having not decided on what to wear, he pulled out a few clothes and threw them to the floor, creating a mess again, after deeming them not of worth for what he planned to do tonight. After an adequate amount of time, he finally settled black boxer briefs and ripped jeans hugging his ass like a vice, a tight white t-shirt with a V-neck to show off his prominent collar bones and a black leather jacket recently bought only for the purpose of attracting people. Eren was extremely self-confident about his looks and frequently worked out to keep himself in shape and be presentable at all times. If you want your partners to have a beautiful body, then it was obligatory to provide them with the same, right?

 

The only ever-recurring problem were his brown locks; he could try anything to control his hair, sadly without success at most times. It was a disaster every time wanted to go out, it occupied too much time, and in the end, he always looked like his hair had never seen a brush before. Deciding not to sacrifice an infinite amount of time again, he just combed his unruly mob a few times and deemed it enough. Satisfied with his looks, he grabbed his keys, wallet and phone while exiting his apartment.

 

The walk to the graveyard where his mother was buried was a short one, fortunately. He has been living in this city since forever, and after graduating from the academy, he requested a job nearby to take care of his beloved mother’s grave. It was everything he had left from his devastating childhood. Carla was only in her mid-thirties and Eren was merely eleven years old when she was brutally murdered for an unknown reason. Not only didn’t they find a motive but also not the person who did it. After about half a year the case was closed due to lack of evidence. Since that day his life was going downhill in every aspect. While time went on, there had been uncountable minutes of thinking about giving up, but then he thought about the reason why he held on for so long, to find his mother’s murderer to call him to account for his crime.

 

* * *

 

 

After taking a short and not satisfying nap with his dog, Levi took a quick shower, washing the stress away. A towel was loosely wrapped around his hips, hanging low on his small frame. He walked into the kitchen to get himself a glass of milk, not because he hoped to grow taller, just out of habit. While deciding on an outfit fitting for visiting a grave, he heard his phone vibrating on the glass table in the living room. To his dismay, it was the same caller as before, he really wasn’t in the mood for talking to Kenny, but it seemed important otherwise he wouldn’t call that often if the already ten missed calls were any indication. He was pretty sure the call was about work, at least he hoped so; small-talk wasn’t either Levi’s nor Kenny’s strong point, so why wasting time senseless. Deciding to better get it over with, he pressed the call button and was almost immediately greeted by a rather annoyed voice.

 

“So, you finally decided to answer my call? Do you know how many times I already tried to get in contact with you? You have obligations every minute we decide so, there is no such thing as free time, and you know that very well, brat,” Yes, Kenny was definitely stressed out, but Levi didn’t care. If he wanted a break, then he would take one regardless of the consequences or what other people thought was the right choice.

 

“I don’t care either way. Get to the point, or I’m going to hang up on you, and you won’t get a second chance to get in contact with me,” Levi threatened, not at all intimidated by his uncle. There had been a time when Levi was afraid of him and did everything Kenny demanded of him, but those times were over for a long time now.

 

“Show a bit of respect to the person who rescued you, you ungrateful brat. You have an appointment at 9 pm at the bar ‘Wall Sina’ with Mike Zacharias. You were personally requested by the boss to take on that one and kindly remind them to pay their debt, or they won’t be able to spend the borrowed money in near future. Don’t you dare not showing up or being late otherwise I’m going to pay you an unwanted visit and we both know you wouldn’t want that to happen,” Kenny replied, a slight tone of anticipation underlying his voice.

 

“Tch, you really want to talk about that again? I don’t think that the word rescue fits here, abduction or kidnapping would be more appropriate. As for your offer to visit me, I must thankfully decline, a meeting would not be in both our interest. Thus, even without threatening me I will be present at the appointed time; it’s my job after all, and you won’t have to tell my how to execute it,” Levi replied, his growing anger and frustration expertly hidden behind a steady and nonchalant voice. Assuming his frustration would grow exponentially with the continuation of the call, he ended the call without warning. It wasn’t like Kenny would tell him any further relevant information; he would just annoy him as fuck with his shitty personality.

 

Going back to his wardrobe Levi put on his business clothing consisting of tight black dress pants, a crisp white shirt leaving the top three buttons unbuttoned and a black blazer loosely draped over his shoulders. After getting his hair ready, he walked through his apartment to the front door, greeted there by his lovely dog. “Hey beautiful, I have to work tonight, but you will be fine on your own,” Levi told her in a soothing voice, ruffling her fur in a gentle manner as she clearly enjoyed the attention. He knew Amaterasu understood him as she tilted his head and seconds later walked into his bedroom, probably to make herself comfortable on his bed.

 

Getting everything he needed, he pulled his shoes on and was on his way to his first station: the graveyard. It wasn’t a long walk until he reached the familiar cemetery, and only a few moments later he found himself in front of Carla’s well-tended grave. Different kinds of flowers were arranged on her grave, alternately dark red and white pansies forming two semicircles along the longer border on each side. A picture of a smiling Carla printed on a stone was placed in the middle of a heart-shaped box tree planted in front of the tombstone. To round off the arrangement, a dark marble lantern with four side glass and a lit red candle was placed in between the semicircles. Every time Levi visited the grave, there was always another arrangement of flowers present done with a lot of venerableness and love.

 

Levi just stood there, thinking of nothing, only staring at Carla’s picture as an overwhelming feeling of guilt and sadness overcame him. Since the day of her death, he built an impenetrable wall around himself and completely closed off his heart, trying successfully to not show any emotion to no one and just drowned himself in work. It was his eternal punishment for his stupidity and human failure, and nothing would ever be able to change it.

 

Realising it was almost time for his appointment, he repressed thoughts of guilt, and instead concentrated on the task at hand. Not losing any more time, he turned his back on her grave and walked away not noticing another person’s presence nor the calls reaching out to him.

 

* * *

 

Caught up in his thoughts, like so often these days, Eren didn’t notice reaching his destination, nor did he see the sun kissing the horizon softly, painting the sky in a picturesque view of an orange hue. Stepping onto the cemetery, for him, it was like the atmosphere suddenly changed from the lively outside world to an eerie and silent one. Every sound or move was calculated microscopically which contributed to the melancholy mood. The rows of graves were extending to a point not manageable to see with the bare eye. There were so many people buried here, young or old, wealthy or poor, whole families or single individuals, everyone had their story to tell how they fought or gave up, but death was final, and that’s what all these people had in common. Most of the graves were well taken care of; occasionally one could see neglected and overgrown ones.

 

His mother’s grave was seated somewhere in the middle with a marble tombstone showing an angel releasing a single dove from her hands and forlornly watched it fly away. The angel was representing the remaining family mourning over the lost soul of the deceased, symbolised by the dove. ‘Let go of what is behind you otherwise, you can’t reach what’s in front of you’, was the inscription desired by Carla. She wanted her family to look ahead constantly, it’s always too easy to get caught up in the past, so she thought about inspiring them with the inscription if they would visit her grave.

 

As he was slowly closing in on the grave, he saw a to him an unknown man standing close to his mother’s final resting-place. Eren didn’t think more of it as it was highly possible that the man was paying his respects to a grave near his mother’s. The closer he got, the more his impression changed, the man was indeed standing at his mother’s grave staring into nothingness. Eren knew all his mum’s friends, and they all lived far away which left him wondering about the other person’s identity as none of them had been visiting for the past year. As Eren was about to call out to the man, the stranger turned around and walked into the other direction.

 

“Excuse me, Sir. Please wait up!” He called out, but his voice didn’t seem to reach the man as said man walked away, disappearing into the distance. Eren walked after him until he came to a halt at his mum’s grave. Turning to face the tombstone he slightly shook his head and quietly asked, “Who was your mysterious friend, mum? Not creepy at all…”

 

He told his mum everything about his new work and assignment that he didn’t deem himself made for but took it on to search for the truth about her murderer, promising her he would bring her justice. Tending experienced to her grave he took a stroll down the memory line, thinking about the unaccountable happy memories he had with his mum as tears spilt from his eyes because of how much he missed her. A numbing deep ache spread inside his heart, constantly accompanying him with every move he made as he plucked the dried leaves or wilted blooms of the plants. After a few finishing touches, deeming it worth looking at, he noticed time flew by quickly as he already had been at the graveyard for a little over thirty minutes. Night silently laid itself over the cemetery wrapping everything into a veil of darkness, occasionally brightened by the moon peeping out from under the thick layer of clouds.

 

With a sad smile and remnants of dried tears, he bid farewell to his mother once again, promising to visit her again sometime soon. Gazing one more time at the picture of her countenance he turned around and walked off into the same direction the former man did, unconsciously deciding to visit a small bar called ‘Wall Sina’. He really did need to get there fast, alcohol and the possibility of getting laid as a distraction were more than a welcome change.

 

As he walked towards his destination he remembered the mercury gaze of the handsome man from earlier this day and intrigued by his looks, Eren wasn’t opposed in the slightest to invite him to his bed, if given a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and let me know what you think of this chapter. Until next time :D


	4. Nightly Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What better way is there than to relax with a nice drink in hand and maybe a chance for some fun? Things just didn't go as expected for Eren, at least at first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long delay. I haven't abandoned this fic, but I had to stay in the hospital for a few weeks and was not allowed to do anything, especially relating anything to electronic devices. But I am all better now, so hopefully, I won't take as long as this time to update again. I'm doing my best. 
> 
> Eren x Jean ahead, just for this chapter, needed it for Levi to take action
> 
> But for now, enjoy the new chapter :)

Levi had zero motivation for executing his work, but for peaceful measures, he knew not to piss his boss nor Kenny off. He didn’t want his uncle to pay him the unwanted visit he threatened him with, after all, Kenny never had good intentions, and Levi would gladly go without. So, true to his word the Raven reached the bar ‘Wall Sina’ like five minutes earlier than appointed. Getting himself into working mood, he let one of the waiting bodyguards lead him the way to his client’s office. The bar was well-attended, but nothing was appealing to him while casting quick glances at a few interesting-seeming visitors; nothing to lift his mood. Even the behaviour of some people only made him roll his eyes; feeling someone else up without their consent was plain impudent and unacceptable in every way.

 

He was glad to finally have these fools out of his sight as he came eye to eye with the wooden door presumingly of his client’s office. Levi was told to wait outside as the bodyguard informed his client about his arrival. A few moments later his guide reappeared again, holding open the door for Levi to enter the spartanly furnished office of Keith Shadis.

 

Keith was sitting in his office chair with a very high backrest to only show his bald head as he was turned away from Levi, behind the wooden table. As the door fell into lock behind Levi, the chair slowly turned around, revealing an imposing and frightening man because of his slightly tan complexion and dark circles around his eyes. Not that Levi could be intimidated, but he was sure there were quite a few people afraid of Keith.

 

“Good evening Mr Shadis, my name is Levi, and I’m here on behalf of my boss, Nile Dok, as you surely know. As you may be are aware of, you are already behind regarding paying back your debt, and I’m here to politely remind you of our deal otherwise you will have to suffer severe consequences,“ He told him with a stoic face, false friendliness in his tone. He skipped straight to the point, not keen on wasting time with useless people.

 

“What if I say I don’t have the money to pay you back right now? The bar isn’t doing so well to yield a profit to pay you back that ridiculous high rates you burdened me with. It may seem well-attended to you as a layman, but there is less than forty percent of visitors we generally accommodated.”

 

“You are playing a very dangerous game here, Mr Shadis. We know that you have other means to earn money, don’t even attempt to hoodwink our organisation, it won’t do you any good. Just pay what you have to, and there won’t be any further problems. But know one thing, if I have to come once more, it may be your last time seeing a person at all,” Levi replied, apparently taking delight in the slowly forming scowl on Keith’s face.

 

“You’re awfully sure of yourself. Take a look around you and reconsider the choice of your words very carefully. As far as I can see, you are alone against what, three people plus I in this room? You actually want to pick a fight with my men? I’ve heard of your extraordinary efforts, and I’m sure you can assess a situation like this with alarming efficiency and won’t do anything unnecessary, like getting yourself killed,” Shadis said, regaining his posture. Levi knew about his superiority all along, even when Shadis tried to put it otherwise. He was superior in every part except in number, but that was not relevant. Two men were standing beside Keith, and the third one was guarding the door behind the Raven, each equipped with a gun, tightly secured in their holster. Levi’s small stature and light weight gave him an absolute advantage in quickness, which meant being able to at least kill one man before they would even have the chance in drawing their guns.

 

Levi tilted his head at the obvious threat and walked closer to Shadis’ desk with a calculating piercing gaze never leaving his prey. “If you already know about my extraordinary efforts, as you put it, then you as sure as hell also know that I’ve killed for less reason and have been fighting aginst more than four people at once. Or are you just a suicidal bastard challenging a way more superior person, hiding behind your ridiculous excuses of bodyguards? Let’s just save our energy, time and _your_ lives and get this meeting over with. Pay your debt, and you will never see me again because next time I won’t be in a good mood like today and you will meet my very sharp and blood-thirsty _friend._ ” With every sentence spoken Levi drew closer, a dangerous aura surrounding him, intimidating Shadis with every breath he took.

 

Oddly oblivious to his threats the bodyguards still didn’t make any intention to draw their guns, not that Levi cared either way. Shadis wasn’t one being afraid of losing his life, he did a lot of shady business with equally dangerous people. Still, Levi was on a whole different level of dangerous. He didn’t look all that aggressive, but he had that ice-cold look he appreciated everyone with even though he didn’t look like he cared what others thought about him. Shadis was getting more afraid of Levi with the lessening distance between them but tried not to show it as the Raven was able to read his mimic and body language like an open book.

 

Shadis knew about Levi’s _talents_ and didn’t want to test it out in person. Narrowing his gaze Shadis put on his most impassive face and replied curtly in a pressed voice, “As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm there won’t be any need of furthers visits from your side. I will make sure you get your money right on time,” Staring right back at Levi’s piercing gaze. He waved his hand dismissively, signalling one of his bodyguards to open the door for Levi. “You may leave now, I actually have _work_ to do.” With that, he deemed the conversation over and lowered his gaze onto the documents even though he couldn’t concentrate on the task at hand as long as Levi still remained in the same room.

 

Levi straightened up, and with a last glance at the older male, he turned around, heading for the bar counter. He could need a drink right now, a high percentage one. He beckoned the bartender over and ordered a whisky, Johnnie Walker to be exactly. Levi lowered himself on one of the few not-occupied chairs and waited for his drink to arrive. After a moment he held his glass in hand and took a sip, relaxing at the soothing burn in his throat. Lowering the glass, he took a look around, and his eyes settled on an unexpected surprise.

 

* * *

 

 

Leaving the cemetery behind, Eren headed for the bar he had in mind before starting his trip: Wall Sina. Fortunately, it wasn’t far from his place, so there was no reason, not to get drunk since he would work at home tomorrow. Eren’s district was whether run-down nor a rich one. Which made it so much better to have a jewel of a well-equipped bar here. People were friendly, and if you searched for a _nightly_ _distraction_ , you wouldn’t leave empty-handed.

 

Eren had a few relationships distributed over the last years, but he soon realised that he wasn’t boyfriend material. He wasn’t capable of evolving feelings keeping him with another partner, afraid of losing someone, he would hold dear to him, again. But with an attitude like that, every future relationship was damned before it even started. It led him to only have fun without strings attached, he couldn’t bear losing someone again, ever.

 

The neon light of the bar was illuminating the whole street in a sterile white hue within a radius of fifteen metres. The street was deserted if it hadn’t been for the few people in front of the bar smoking, chatting with each other or stumbling around like zombies caused by the blatant overuse of alcohol.

 

Eren didn’t like cigarette smoke, never has, since it always remembered him of his useless father. Pushing unpleasant memories aside, he darted through the crowd, giving the bodyguard a nod and entered the bar. Eren was by no means a regular guest, but he knew a few of the bodyguards since he often mediated between guests when there was a fight.

 

He immediately headed for the round wooden bar seated in the middle of the spacious room. The ground floor was exclusively used for people chatting while drinking or eating snacks. Since the bar counter took over a lot of space, there was no way for a dance floor. That’s why the owner decided to build one in the cellar accompanied by a small bar which only held the necessities people would drink while dancing.

 

Before even thinking about dancing he definitely needed a drink or two and find a suitable partner to spend the night with. It was around ten o’clock as the bar slowly began to get livelier as more people flooded through the door. Regarding the number of individuals entering Eren was sure it wouldn’t take long to find an able partner.

 

The second he reached the bar counter the bartender already greeted him with a friendly smile. “It’s been a while Eren. How have you been? The same as always?” Connie asked with a big grin. He looked good in that bartender uniform and was known for his incredible talent in mixing the damned best drinks.

 

“Hey Connie, it hasn’t been that long, only a couple weeks. Had to take care of a few urgent matters, but everything is back to normal now. And yes, please get me the usual, a vodka cherry. There is nothing better to start the evening with,” Eren replied with a wink.

 

He turned his back on the bar and started checking out a few people surreptitiously, but there was no one catching his attention, which compulsorily meant to wait and see. While chatting for a bit with Connie, he downed his drink and instantly ordered a second one. Before thinking about getting a third one, there was already standing a full glass in front of him. He gave Connie a slightly confused look, who merely replied with a jerk of his head to his right side hinting at someone who apparently treated Eren to another one.

 

Eren gave him a scrutinising look, lifted his glass and gave him a grateful nod. The man mimicked the gesture and gave him a small almost shy-seeming smile. Eren took a sip from his drink, slowly but surely feeling the effects of the alcohol since he hadn’t eaten since lunch. He got off the stool, and slowly strode over to the mysterious guy who wouldn’t avert his eyes from Eren’s nearing frame.

 

The man had short, light ash-brown hair with his sides and back trimmed shorter and of a darker colour. His intense light-brown eyes were holding a minimal vicious look which he tried to overshadow with a smile not quite reaching the corner of his eyes, but Eren didn’t mind, after all, he wasn’t searching for a lifelong partner.

 

He stood up as soon as Eren made his way over to him. His attire consisted of a white button-up shirt, dark pants and a dark brown vest. He was of the same height as Eren and was muscular build, not exactly like Eren wanted, but that didn’t matter for now.

 

“Hi, I’m Jean. What is a lovely boy like you doing here? Seeking for some fun, I hope?” He introduced, gesturing Eren to take a seat. His voice was as smooth as an eel’s skin, nasty to be honest. Yet, he didn’t look bad, except for his horse-shaped face but that could be tolerated.

 

“Thanks for the drink, I’m Eren. What if I were indeed seeking for some fun activities? Would you be so nice in providing them?” Eren asked in a soft tone, giving him a seductive look.

 

Jean tilted his head, looking at Eren intensely, already devouring him with his eyes, “For you, everything, babe. Has anyone ever told you, you have an _exquisite_ body?” An unpleasant feeling made itself known as Jean put his hand on the Brunette’s thigh, too close to his crotch for his liking. He hated nicknames, especially unimaginative ones like that. Jean was going strong, maybe too strong and Eren wasn’t even sure if he wanted to engage in any activity with Jean anymore.

 

“If my memory serves me right, there have been a few people telling me that, but thanks anyway.” Eren took a big gulp from his long drink again, covering up his slowly fading interest. He wriggled around, trying to shake off the other male’s hand to no success, it was as if it was glued to his thigh inching closer with every moment. Eren put his hand atop of Jean’s, brushing it softly with his thumb to prevent Jean’s hand from creeping any closer.

 

Jean leant closer and whispered, “Eager, aren’t we? We’ll leave as soon as we finish our drinks.” Eren's eyes instantly scanned their drinks which were thankfully more than half full. He put his hands flatly on Jean’s chest, playing for time as he fingered the top buttons at the hem of his shirt all the while preventing him from drawing closer. Eren could always push him away and tell him off, but he really did need a distraction for the night and causing a scene would reduce his chance significantly in finding someone else.

 

Not getting the hint, Jean saw it as encouragement, gripped both Eren’s wrists and leant ever closer. Eren’s eyes peeked from behind his long cinnamon lashes, reading Jean’s intentions carefully. “Playing hard to get?  I like that, makes it way more interesting and authentic,” Jean said in a sultry voice, licking his upper lip. Of fucking course, Jean had to mix up his insecurity with arousal. As the warm air of his breath slightly ghosted over his ear, Eren started, screwing his eyes shut as an unpleasant frisson rolled down his spine.

 

Eren turned his head away, eyes still closed tightly. A little squeaking sound escaped his throat inadvertently the moment Jean sniffed the sensitive spot behind his ear. The shock made Eren open his eyes instantly comically wide, but what he saw made him quickly forget the persistent presence of a certain horse-faced man.

 

Levi was already downing his fourth drink while watching the odd couple for quite a while now. It seemed that they weren’t exactly on the same page while the brunette boy tried to keep his distance from the other one who was oblivious to his administrations. It made him agitated somehow, gripping his glass hard, almost breaking it. Still, he didn’t care as all his undivided attention was on that boy, tantalising him. When the Brunette turned his head away, right in Levi’s sight of line and opened his eyes, he was confronted with a deja-vu anew. Upon seeing the bottomless forest-green eyes, he had the sudden urge to get to know the boy and demand answers secretively.

 

Eren was practically melting as he scanned the man with that intense mercury gaze. He was not only handsome but the sin itself. Eren wanted to run his fingers through silky black hair, from his undercut to the longer strands. There was definitely something like desire and lust recognisable in the grey depths, building a feelable tension between them. Unconsciously worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, Eren was reminded too soon of a certain unwelcomed presence still pushing ever closer. He was no longer interested in Jean, but even more so captivated by that other man.

 

Using the distraction to his advantage, Jean stuck out his tongue and took an experimental lick along Eren’s neck from his exposed shoulder to a sensitive spot behind his ear. The wet sensation eliciting a soundless whimper from Eren, shutting his eyes for a moment once again. He really needed to put a stop to Jean’s administrations, since he actually couldn’t take a hint.

 

Jean frowned at the taste since everything was overlayed with the taste of alcohol. Shrugging it off he went back to work in licking couple more times over the Brunette’s neck to try and decipher the taste of the tanned skin. He soon gave up and thought a kiss would do the trick, but Eren beat him to it, putting his right index finger on his lips, whispering, “You wouldn’t want to ruin the fun now, would you?”

 

Jean immediately stopped dead in his tracks, but found himself smiling a moment later, “Why yes, I have to test the goods first before taking them home.” Of course, he would it put down like that. Suppressing a sigh, he quickly thought about another plan which would actually bear fruit. Hoping to gain inspiration he dared to take a look at the Raven but wasn’t pleased with what he saw.

 

Meanwhile, Levi couldn’t take his eyes off the Brunette and got even more irritated as that other bastard dared to use his dirty tongue on the impeccably tanned skin of the green-eyed boy. Even a blind man would be able to see the uncomfortableness Jean was causing. There was something about the kid that made him possessive to no end, he wanted to claim him, take him, preferably yesterday. There was this perceptible tension between them, filling the air with electricity, from the very first eye contact they made.

 

When Jean went for a kiss, Levi saw red and almost jumped from his chair, not noticing the petite blonde girl in his way. He simply ran her over, only then did his anger ebb away, realising the small figure to his feet. Levi instantly crouched down, extending his hand in a friendly manner to help her up. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?” Levi asked in an honestly concerned voice.

 

The Blonde tilted her head upwards, looking him straight in the eye with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. She first seemed a bit surprised at his outstretched hand but took it after a moment of hesitation. “I’m fine. Just surprised, I guess. Doesn’t often happen being run over,” she replied with false friendliness.

 

“Doesn’t happen often?” Levi asked with surprise, taking his hand back after helping her up. Regarding her, with a scrutinising look from head to toe, he quirked an eyebrow at her, “It’s not like you attract attention, considering your lack of height, don’t you think?”

 

“You’re one to talk. Did you have a look in the mirror recently? It’s not like you’re that much taller than I am!” She spits venomously. _Feisty little girl_ , Levi thought, not that he was interested, but it wasn’t common for people to snap at him, especially little girls. Occupied with the Blonde, he shortly forgot about his task at hand, getting the brunette boy out of that other bastards grasp.

 

Rumbling about incoherent things the girl was about to turn around as she realised that Levi wouldn’t answer her since his eyes settled again on the green-eyed boy at the other side of the bar. Upon realising the obvious interest in the other male, she shot the Brunette a challenging look. _Why not make this game a bit harder for them both?_ With that thought in mind, she turned around and walked away joining her friends. Levi vaguely perceived words like ‘midget’ and ‘rude’ along with other words the Blonde mumbled, but since his attention was already somewhere else, he didn’t care in the slightest.

 

Eren was extremely sure he didn’t just imagine the tension between them, so why was the Raven already flirting with someone else? He was a bit shocked until receiving a challenging and complacent smile from the Petite Blonde. Two could play that game and he sure as hell wasn’t one to give up easily even if it meant to tolerate Jean’s company for a bit longer. Jettisoning his plan he faced Jean again, missing the mercury gaze only by a whisker. “I guess you’re right, who am I to deny you a taste,” crooned Eren, making himself irresistible. Fisting the hem of Jean’s shirt, using it as purchase to pull him closer, leaving their lips to touch only a few centimetres apart. “How about I give you a foretaste for tonight?” breathed Eren lightly against the other male’s lips.

 

Jean’s eyes opened a fraction wider while a small smile played around the corner of his mouth, seemingly satisfied with Eren’s display. “I’m all yours, feel free to do whatever you want,” replied Jean, opening his arms wide as an open invitation, giving Eren the reigns for the moment.

 

By now he could feel the angry gaze of grey eyes at the back of his neck, making him shiver in mostly excitement and a hint of dread. Eren worried his bottom lip between his teeth, only releasing it as he closed the reassuring distance between him and Jean. He closed his eyes, thinking about how a certain black-haired man would possibly taste. Just imagining it excited him to no end, hoping that soon enough his dream came true. He couldn’t deviate any further from the task at hand, he had to concentrate, to make Jean truly believe that Eren was honest with him even if he wasn’t.

 

Banning every unuseful thought, he focused on the here and now in leaning ever closer, softly pressing his lips to the other males at first. Just a sensual kiss to test the waters. Apparently dissatisfied, it only took Jean a moment to take over for Eren by placing one hand on Eren’s plush hips, kneading the pelvic bone affectionately and placing the other hand on the Brunette’s nape to pull him closer to deepen the kiss.

 

As soon as Jean added his tongue to the equation, Eren felt disgusted, rather revolted. It demanded everything from him not to pull back instantly, he had to endure it. At first, Jean let his slick muscle glide over the seam of Eren’s lips to ask for entrance, but he soon got more forceful, now demanding access which Eren refused vehemently so. Eren tried to push him away, to gain much-needed distance again but Jean had other intentions, and his grip on Eren’s nape got harder by the second. It didn’t look like Jean was about to let go soon, and the Brunette already regretted even attempting ti kiss Jean just to take on the challenge of the Petite Blonde.

 

Thankfully, Jean had to break the ferocious kiss to take in a big gulp of air like every other human as well. It gave Eren a few moments to regain his posture and find his breath again while coming up with a plan for the umpteenth time for the evening. At this point Jean was like a dehydrated being in front of an oasis, wanting what was promised to him which meant he was about to aggressively attack Eren’s mouth again before said man could even utter a word of protest. In between the periodically attempts of Jean to force his tongue inside the Brunette’s mouth, Eren finally managed to breathe a few words of rejection, “St-Stop, Jean… People are looking already…” It was a cheap kind of excuse, but all Eren was able to come up with, and he still hoped it would work on an imbecile like Jean.

 

“Already eager to go home and continue there, babe? I bet it will be an unforgettable night for both of us if you will show a bit more commitment,” Jean whispered into Eren’s ear, trying for a seductive voice. His hand was now shifting from Eren’s nape to his ass, grabbing at the soft plushness there, continuing to murmur, “But even without, I surely will enjoy that tight piece of ass you have there, princess.” Disgusting was definitely an understatement now, considering the rise of goosebumps all over his body in reaction to that nickname. He needed to stop that charade now, or he surely would regret it later on.

 

Jean wasn’t as pleased, noticing Eren keeping him on an arm’s length away from him. He plainly needed to show him his place, after all, Eren was the one who wanted to play this game, to begin with. If it came down to it, Eren would still be able to keep Jean away from him, he wasn’t trained to be an agent solely on his intellectual abilities. Even if inebriated he could still hurt the horse-face if the need arises and now he wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

 

Luckily, it never came down to test his skills because a moment later someone grabbed Jean by his shirt’s back and pulled him away from Eren, as he was about to force dominance on the defenceless boy. Looking up at his saviour, Eren’s eyes went comically wide as he spotted the countenance of a certain Raven holding a cursing, struggling and more than confused Jean. The frightened boy tried to get out of Levi’s grip to no avail, flailing his fists at the older male, Levi quickly caught both of his wrists in one hand applying a steady grip, not to break but to hurt, nonetheless.

 

“Don’t you know that it is unsightly to force your will on someone? I distinctly heard him saying stop, so are you deaf or only stupid to still continue, horse-face?” His tone was ice-cold, dripping with annoyance over the whole situation. His face was emotionless as always, but his aura made everyone submit to him instantly, even an idiot like Jean was sure to understand who was the superior right now. Not sure what to say or to say something at all, Jean just opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking like a fish stranded and gasping for air.

 

“Be gone now, or you will regret ever setting foot in this bar because this situation will end with me destroying you…” There was no room for negotiations, particularly since Levi applied, even more, pressure on Jean’s wrists, intending to hurt Jean as much as possible. Jean nodded frantically, trying to escape the iron grip and get the hell out of there. There was something to Levi's presence he didn’t want to challenge now or ever, yet he still had to show off to not seem like a scared puppy to the other guests, “Next time you won’t get away that easily!” And with that, he finally left the bar and Eren alone who was still shocked at the whole display he just witnessed.

 

At the idiot’s remark, Levi literary had to turn around and giving Jean a piercing look until said man was finally out of sight. From then on he was able to concentrate on a whole different task at hand, to seduce the beautiful green-eyed boy next to him.

 

“Thank you, I suppose?” Eren honestly started, still perplex but regaining his posture fast. At last, Eren could make out all the features of the Raven. His finely chiselled features, high cheekbones, milky and smooth skin like porcelain and his silky black hair from his undercut to the longer strands. What had him elicited the most were the mesmerising grey eyes he felt familiar with. The man didn’t look much older than him, just shorter but that didn’t matter at all. The way his clothes fitted, Eren assumed that the man was hiding some seriously trained muscles beneath. Oh, how he wanted to find out what else the male has confined underneath all that clothing, Eren would be delighted to be allowed to unpack.

 

“No problem. You didn’t look like a damsel in distress, but I seized what I thought was the best opportunity to buy you another drink if you’re up to it?” Bathing in the sound of Levi’s honied voice, Eren was melting relishing every quirk to his voice. Levi tilted his head a little, awaiting an answer from Eren but not pressuring him at all.

 

“I was just about to take him on as you came by, but it looks like you did save me from the inevitable loneliness if I would have sent him to hell. Yes, I would be delighted to be your company for the evening. My name is Eren by the way,” Eren finally answered, a bright smile displaying on his face at the invitation.

 

“Name’s Levi, and I am glad to be of use to sooth your loneliness, little one,” It kind of seemed ironic to Eren to be called the ‘little one’, but he couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment and he even kind of liked it; the first nickname he ever liked except the one his mother had called him. The entirety his thoughts were occupied with how he could still turn the rest of the night into his favour and be devoured by that incredibly attractive male.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have time to proofread, so I hope there aren't too many mistakes in there. If there are any, please just point them out for me. I think you can guess how the next chapter looks like or what it is about ;)
> 
> And as always Kudos and comments are highly recommended and will help me getting my motivation back on track! Thanks for reading :)


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